Aeronautical machine.



T. W. K. CLARKE.

AERONAUTICAL MACHINEx APPLICATION FILED JULY 11, 1908.

Patented June 27, 1911.

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T. W. K. CLARKE AERONAUTIOAL MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 11. 1908.

996,061, I Patented June 27,1911.

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mnomas wresiron KING-LAKE cLAnKE, or Sumatran, ENGLAND,

' AERONAUTICAL monmn.

To all whom it may concern.- I j Be it. known that I, THOMAS WIGSTONKINGLAKE CLARKE, ofStCatherines, Maple .Road, Surbiton, in thecounty'of- Surrey,

England, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Aeronauti-- calMachines, of which the" following'is a specification.

This invention relates to machines fortraversing the air, and consistsin certain,

improvements whereby adjustments. for se: curing accuracy of balance,both in alongitu dinal aid 'in a transverse direction are facilitated;and whereby the exposed parts are I rendered capable of yielding oncontact with the groundoiiother obstacle and. the

risk, at

breakage is diminished. a

In the accompanying drawings which.

illustrate, by way of example, a machine'em;

bodying my improvements, Figures}, and2, are plans respectively ofthe-topand of. the I underside offthe machine. Fig. 3, is a rearelevation of the machine. Fig.4, a section on of the machine.

each plane is immediately behind the'leading edge as shown more clearlyin Fig. 7 and the underside is by preference slightly the line wa2 inFig. Fig. 5 is a view: of

' one of the propeller Fig, "6 is a'detail onan enlargedscale. showingthemariner of mounting the propeller.

Fig. 7 is a transverse section of one of the planes: i

The type ofmachine to which my present improvements are for the most artap- 1 plicable consists of a double bow rame a,

' furnished atone end-'with a. propeller b, and having as,supportinggasurfac'es" two transverse planes 0 c, which are bypreference slightlybent upward "on the opposite sides The thickestportion of hollow. The forward supporting surface 0 is smaller incomparison with the after sur-' face a; i Assuming a screw to beemployed for propelling the apparatus,- there is a. tendency for thelatter to tilt laterally owing-tethereaction of the propeller. Icounteract this tendency by setting tlie'supportingsurfaces or one ofthem out of eenter with relation to the machine; the aggregatesupporting surface on one side of the longitudinal center of the.machine being, under such circumstances, somewhat greater thanthat'onthe, opposite side of the center line, thisdi'lfen" once being capableof ready adjustment. ',I n

Application filed July 11, 1908. Sari sl m 443,032.

' the same manner, the direction Specification of Letters Patent.Patented June 27,1911.

of flight may be varied and controlled.

For securing the. supporting surfaces to the frame I employ Wire clips03 each 'of which is in the. form of an elongated loop bent laterally. IThe opposite extremities d, d,'of the loop engage beneath the frame,

a, while the central portions project above the frame-and form barsbeneath which the planes 0, cinay be slipped. With the aid-of such clips03, the planes may be held sufliciently firmly upon the frame a for thepurpose of flight; but in the event of either extremity of thesupporting surface 0 or a coming into violent contact with the ground orother obstacle, the clips d permit the same to yield and avoid injury.According f to a modified form of attachment, as shown applied to theafter plane 0', a curved spring-clip e is pivoted at its center to theplane; this'clip being passed between the sides of the frame and itsopposite extremities brought beneath the latter. Such methods ,ofmounting the supporting surfaces upon the frame also facilitate theadjust ment of the former upon the. latter in a fore aildwaftdirection eWith the same object, the screw-propeller is slipped upon a wire or'other suitable holder 6 and-held in position by friction. In the eventof either of-the blades coming into forcible contact with the ground,the entire propeller becomes unshipped without suifering injury. Y

In constructing a propeller for a model or experimental machine, I formthe blades b 12 separate, each blade having a flattened stem .or shank12 The stem has a twist im-.

parted to. it; and. when two such-twisted stems are placed face to faceand bound or otherwise fastened together a two-bladed propeller results,having the blades set at the proper angle, according to the pitchdesired. I prefer to make the leading edge of the blade'stra-ight, themajor-portion of the' surface lying behind the axis of the stem whenprolonged. The .working face of the propeller-blade is by preferenceslightly concave and the back of the blade convex.

For enabling the screw-propeller to be started after'the machine hasleft the land, I

mount a pin 1 in one rftwo eyes f, the extremity of the pin projectinginto the, ath ofthe screws 1). Thispin is'attache by means of a line fto the wrist of the user,

of a plate 9 fastenedto the underside of the frame a, (see "Fig, 2), andbent upward, the

-propeller shaft passing through the bent portion. A

The propeller, in the model form shown, is driven by twisted rubberbands h, secured to the forward part. of the frame and to the propellershaft 7). I k- What-I claim as my invention and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is

1. An aeronautical machine comprising two transversely arrangedsupporting surfaces, placed fore and aft of the machine, and having thearea of the forward surface small in comparison with that of the aftersurface, the position of either of the said surfaces being adjustable,both laterally androt-atively, in relation to the' body of the 1machine.

2. In an aeronautical machine, the combination with a frame, ofsupporting surfaces arranged fore and aft of the frame and clipsarranged to adjustably and detachably secure the supporting surfaces tothe frame.

3. In an aeronautical, machine, the combination with a frame, of a screwpropeller, a

supporting surface arranged transversely of the frame and laterally outof center in-relation to the machine whereby the lateral tiltingtendency due to. the propeller is counteracted. a

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in,the. presence 'of two subscribing witnesses.- I

THOMAS WIGSTON KINGLAKE jWitnes sesz H. D. JAMEsoN, j R. F.- WIILIAMS

